Facts About Kidney Inflammation

A kidney infection can be a serious problem because the kidneys are such important organs. They detoxify the blood and they act like filters for the body. They also regulate the amount of blood the body produces and maintain electrolyte levels. So kidney inflammation or any changes to the kidneys should be considered dangerous.

Infections of the kidneys are usually the cause of kidney inflammation and adults and children can both suffer from them. The symptoms include lower back pain, fever and a possible inability to or problems with urinating. But because these symptoms are not severe, the sufferer may not think that they are anything to be worried about.

Pyelonephritis is the most typical type of kidney inflammation. It is accompanied by fever and pain while urinating. The urine may be a light red color and it may also be cloudy. Nausea, vomiting and headaches can also occur if the infection is getting progressively worse.

Glomerulonephritis is a medical term used to describe when both of the kidneys are infected at the same time. In this case, bacteria causes infection within the body and it spreads to both of the kidneys. This leaves the kidneys unable to filter fluids in the body. Some of the related symptoms are fatigue and high blood pressure. But when the problem worsens, the symptoms can include a high fever and edema. The urine may become reddened and cloudy.

The biggest problems with kidney infections are identifying them. They can be mistaken for a urinary track infection because they have similar symptoms. If the kidney inflammation continues to progress, toxins can be released into the body and the kidneys may not be able to excrete the proper amounts of urea. This is called uremia and it is considered dangerous. The sufferer may have skin and breath that smells like urine if they have substantial amounts of urea built up in the body. In this situation, a doctor may have to use dialysis to aid in filtration and to detoxify the person who is suffering with kidney inflammation.

Lupus is a disease that can cause kidney inflammation. It attacks the immune system that is responsible for filtering out harmful bacteria’s that enter the body, leaving it unable to combat them. Lupus is especially hard on the kidneys and it can cause renal failure. The symptoms include difficulties passing urine and a red colored, cloudy urine.

If a doctor believes that you are having problems with the kidney, he will perform certain tests. A urine test will be done to check it for blood. When there is blood found in the urine, it is called hematuria. A blood test should also be done to check for contaminants in the blood called creatinine. If the contamination is too high, the patient can go into renal failure. The doctor may want to do a biopsy on the kidney itself. This is when he takes a long needle and injects it into the kidney to gather samples. These samples will be analyzed for possible bacterial contamination. Doctors will biopsy a kidney if the person suffering has advanced symptoms of kidney inflammation.

There are many ways to treat kidney inflammation and they all depend on the severity of the problem. Steroids can be used to help and they are either given to the patient by way of pills or an intravenous drip. Cytoxan is usually used as a cancer drug but patients who have kidney problems can also have positive benefits by using this drug. It is a chemotherapy drug and if it is given to patients suffering with kidney problems, it can help without having any adverse side effects.